The Steiner Academy, Hereford Admissions Policy 2020-21
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1 Approved School Admission Arrangements – 2020/21 Approved School Admission Arrangements – 2020/21 Introduction These Admission Arrangements comply with the requirements of the 2014 School Admissions Code and the 2012 School Admission Appeals Code issued by the Department for Education under Section 84 of the School Standards and Framework Act 1998 and are reviewed and published annually by the Academy Trust (the Admissions Authority). If at any time, the Academy Trust should propose to alter its policy or practice, a public consultation will be conducted in accordance with the statutory requirements set out in the School Admissions Code. In the interests of clarity, this document is set out under the following headings: 1.0 - General information 2.0 - Starting School in Reception - September 2020 (the ‘normal admissions round’) 3.0 - Changing School – The ‘in-year’ application process 4.0 – The Oversubscription Criteria 5.0 - Lodging an Appeal 6.0 - Key contact details Appendix A: Glossary and definitions Appendix B: In-Year application Form Appendix C: Supplementary Information Form If you would like to discuss your particular circumstances or require further help with any aspect of the school admissions process, please contact the school’s admissions secretary via the School Office - telephone: 01981 540221 It is recommended that you also visit the school website. It provides a lot of useful information about the school community and curriculum which will be helpful when choosing a school www.steineracademyhereford.eu Any concern relating to the statutory compliance of these admission arrangements or the fairness and equality of local policy/practice should initially be raised with the School Office. If the concern cannot be resolved locally, the matter may be escalated to the Office of the Schools Adjudicator. 1.0 General Information 1.1 The School The Steiner Academy Hereford is an all-through school, which provides Steiner education for children from rising 4-16. Admission applications are considered by an Admissions Committee comprising of at least three members of the Academy Trust. The school is regularly oversubscribed and operates waiting lists for all year groups. 1.2 Who can apply for a place at the school? A parent, registered carer, or other person(s) who has an assigned responsibility for the child concerned (referred to throughout this document as ‘the parent’) may submit a school admission application on behalf of that child for any United Kingdom (UK) state funded school. 1.3 The child The child must, at the time of application, be a UK citizen, or have European Economic Area Citizenship, or hold an appropriate Home Office Visa entitling him/her to live in the UK. 1.4 The home address For admission purposes, the Admissions Authority defines the ‘home address’ to be: 1 2 Approved School Admission Arrangements – 2020/21 the address at which the child concerned is living, at the time of application, for more than 2.5 school days per week, with the person(s) who has legal responsibility for this child. This address should be clearly stated on the application form. Where the child will be moving to a new home address and the parent wishes this to be taken into account, one of the following documents, depending on the circumstances of the case, must be made available at the time of application. A legal ‘exchange of contract’ which confirms the purchase of the property A copy of a formal tenancy agreement (minimum six month term) signed and dated by the Landlord for the property and the applicant Where the child will be living at an address other than the parental family home, for more than 2.5 school days per week (for example with an extended family member, or in emergency or other public accommodation) a formal written letter, signed and dated by the person responsible for the address in question. This must explain the living/care arrangements for the child and state how long these arrangements will be in place. For Children of UK service personnel with a confirmed posting to the area or Crown servants returning from overseas, an official letter confirming a relocation date and Unit postal address or quartering area address 1.5 Siblings The oversubscription criteria set out in section 4.2 of these admission arrangements prioritises applications for children with a sibling attending the school at the time of application who will still be on roll at the time of admission. If a parent wishes a sibling connection to be taken into account, the sibling’s details must be provided on the admission application form and he/she must qualify as a full, half or adoptive brother or sister, or a child living for the majority of his/her school time (more than 2.5 school days per week) within the same family unit and at the same home address. The published Admission Number or admission limit will be exceeded in order that multiple birth siblings (twin, triplet etc.) can be offered places at the same school and likewise for child(ren) of a newly recruited teacher or a returning student where there are compassionate grounds. 1.6 Waiting lists If an admission application is refused because the year applied for is full, the parent has the right to appeal. The child’s name will be entered onto a waiting list for that year group. This waiting list will be maintained until the end of the school year and then shut down. Children’s names are ranked on the waiting list according to compliance with the oversubscription criteria and each time a child’s name is added, the waiting list will be re-ranked. If a place becomes available in the appropriate year, this will be offered for the child ranked highest on the waiting list at that time. A child’s name will be removed from the waiting list if a place is offered and declined, or the parent(s) informs the school in writing to remove his/her child’s name. 1.7 Misleading or false information Should the admission authority become aware that a place was secured for a child at the school on the basis of misleading or false information, it will consider withdrawing the offer, or where a child has already started to attend the school may remove the child from the school roll. The circumstances of the case will be fully discussed with the parent and if the decision is taken to withdraw the offer of a place, the application will be considered afresh, taking account of any new information. 2 3 Approved School Admission Arrangements – 2020/21 2.0 Starting School in Reception - September 2020 (The ‘normal’ Admissions round) 2.1 The Published Admission Number (PAN) The PAN for reception (the year of entry) is 26. This is the number of places that can be provided according to the resources available. If 26 or fewer reception applications are received in September 2020, every applicant will be offered a place for their child, without condition. If more than 26 applications are received, the Admissions Authority will apply the oversubscription criteria in order to rank all the applications and identify a priority for the offer of places up to the PAN. 2.2 Submitting an ‘on time’ Reception application For a child to start school in September 2020, his/her parent(s) must complete the Common Application Form (CAF) available from the ‘home’ local authority (the home local authority is the authority in whose area the child concerned lives). In order for the application to be considered as ‘on time’ the CAF must be submitted to this local authority by 23.59 hours on 15 January 2020. The CAF may be accessed and completed via the home local authority’s ‘on line’ application system, or obtained as a paper form. Full details about the application process and information about the schools in the local authority area are explained in the ‘Composite Prospectus’ document, which each local authority must publish on 12th September annually. For families living in Herefordshire, the home local authority is Herefordshire Council www.herefordshire.gov.uk/education/schools 2.3 Late Reception applications Local authorities must coordinate ‘normal admissions round’ reception applications until 31 August 2020 for children starting school in September 2020. However, if an application is submitted to the home local authority after the application deadline of 23.59 hours on 15th January 2020, it will be considered as a ‘late’ application and will not be administered until all on-time applications have been processed, at which point there may no longer be a place available at the school. 2.4 Notifying the Reception application decision Parents will receive an admission decision in writing from the home local authority on or about 16 April 2020, according to the procedure set out in this local authority’s Composite Prospectus. 2.5 Education Health and Care plan A place will be provided in Reception for any child who has an Education Health and Care Plan (EHCP) which names Steiner Academy Hereford as the education provider. Depending on when the EHCP is issued, the place will be allocated within the Published Admission Number (PAN) before the consideration of any other applications, or above the PAN if places have already been offered at that time. 2.6 Starting school on a full or part time basis A parent may apply for his/her child to start school for the first time in the September following the fourth birthday and, where a place is offered, may choose for the child to start full time from day one, or to attend on a part time basis until statutory school age is reached which is during the term following the child’s fifth birthday 2.7 Deferred entry to school While a child is below statutory school age, the parent may choose to defer his/her child’s entry to school until later in the school year.